The Last Chapter
by FinalArc
Summary: Every night, Pikachu tells Satoshi a story. But all stories have to end.


Pikachu pushes the window open inch by inch, wincing with every scraping sound, no matter how miniscule. Though he expects no one to wander by and this room's only occupant has no chance of waking, the fear of discovery still permeates his being. Perhaps it doesn't matter, and perhaps he worries for no reason, but there is a possibility that if he is caught he might be sent away, and then his task will not be completed.

Finally, the window is open just enough for Pikachu to wiggle through, and he drops to the floor to land in a pool of moonlight. The moon is all he can see by, but it casts a sheen across the slick, dark casket that forms the centerpiece for the room. The sight freezes Pikachu for a moment, and he stops to catch his breath. It's all so final...

But he doesn't have much time to waste, and so he takes a deep breath and approaches the coffin. It takes a minute to figure out how to open it, but he soon manages the clasps and struggles with the lid until he is able to give a great push and force it up and open. The lid falls open with a loud bang, almost loud enough to wake the dead.

Almost. Pikachu scurries into the shadows to avoid detection, but when it seems that no one has noticed or raised an alarm, he finally relaxes. He is alone, now...

Silently, Pikachu makes his way back to the casket and leaps up onto the edge. The boy inside still looks the same as ever, as if he were sleeping. He hasn't changed in over a decade, in any respect, but he cannot forever lie in stasis. Pikachu sighs, dampening the waves of emotion that threaten to overwhelm him, and forces himself to smile. "Hey, Satoshi. I'm back."

Satoshi doesn't stir, but then, he never does. "Sorry I didn't come yesterday. Your mom sat up with you all night,"-until the decision was made- "and I didn't want to disturb you two. But don't worry, I spent all day planning the next adventure. Are you excited?"

Satoshi isn't capable of being excited about anything, but Pikachu wants to believe that even now, his voice can still reach this boy he barely knows. "Well, after we said goodbye to N, we headed back home to Masara Town. And Iris and Dent decided to come with us..." And Pikachu begins another story...

Every night, he tells Satoshi stories. Tales of adventure and bravery, tales of achievement and tales of struggle. Every night, since that fateful day the flock of Onisuzume attacked, Pikachu has been telling Satoshi a bedtime story.

It really is the _least_ he can do.

"But Professor Araragi, suggested that we take a cruise line through the Decolora Islands on the way home, because we'd be able to see all sorts of different Pokemon." His story has spanned years, a true epic, weaving in countless characters and locations, thousands of adventures to excite a young boy.

In all honesty, Pikachu probably gets more out of these stories than Satoshi does, but he's always prayed that Satoshi could hear him, that his voice could reach through the tubes and the IVs to the soul he's sure must be sleeping beneath. For the past decade or so, Pikachu's days have been spent crafting tales and his nights have been spent relaying them to his trainer, even if that might not be the best word to describe what Satoshi is to him. "But of course, there was some trouble when we tried to get on the boat. Team Rocket started following us again, and you'll never believe the trick they tried to pull!"

In Pikachu's stories, Satoshi is always the hero, surrounded by friends and always running off to face a new challenge. Of course things don't come easily, because then the story wouldn't be any fun, but Pikachu's Satoshi is exactly the same as the boy he met on the first day of his Pokemon Journey, unwilling to give up on anything. With great joy, Pikachu tells tales of a boy with a pure heart, full of never-ending kindness and bravery. Not always smart, but with moments of brilliance and even in his immaturity, Satoshi's love and sincerity are plain to see.

It's the only Satoshi Pikachu knows. The only Satoshi he will ever know. If they had continued on their journey, would Satoshi have eventually achieved his dream of being a Pokemon Master? Pikachu likes to think so, and with every story, his Satoshi progresses just a step further on the quest, and Pikachu is always right by his side. In these stories and Pikachu's own heart, Satoshi is a Pokemon Master, even if the world has yet to acknowledge it. The world wasn't there that fateful day on Route 1, and Pikachu knows no other human could be all that Satoshi was under that dark sky.

And he knows he would follow that future master to the ends of the earth. It didn't start out that way, but over time, Pikachu has grown intrigued by the idea of Pokemon Battles, and now his character fights as many as he can. Through telling his tales, Pikachu has seen the appeal in competition, in working together with a partner, and his second greatest wish is that he could try fighting a Pokemon Battle with Satoshi out in the real world. He's sure, though it's the opposite of his initial sentiments, that he'd enjoy it, and finally be able to feel the accomplishment and pride that's always been lacking in his life.

Of course, his first greatest wish was that Satoshi would wake up, but he never did, and now he never will. But Pikachu continues to tell his story tonight, because he can't bear to let all those dreams die. The very same dreams he'd once sworn never to be a part of, and the same boy he wanted nothing to do with. But even now that the end has come and the curtain has closed, Pikachu is still by his trainer's side.

And he's still waiting. Pikachu has no dreams of his own. He never has, and it's only through telling these stories that he's learning what a wonderful thing it is to dream. Satoshi's dreams have become his, but that's all over now. All those dreams are gone, along with the chance that this fake friendship Pikachu's created could ever become real.

"This is the last story I get to tell you..." After this, they won't be seeing each other for a long time. "But you'll have brand new adventures ahead of you, so don't be scared. Maybe the next time we meet, you can be the one to tell me stories?" Pikachu doesn't know when that's going to be, and he doesn't know if Satoshi is even going to want to see him again when that time comes.

But the Satoshi of his stories is more forgiving than anything. "I'm sorry this happened to you. If I'd been a little faster, maybe I'd have been able to save us both from the flock of Onisuzume." He's said this a thousand times, but it never stops being true, and it never changes anything. "I know I gave you a hard time that day, but I was really impressed by you. No one's ever... Well, I think I'd have liked to be your friend. I'm sorry we never got the chance." Pikachu still remembers the darkness, the rain, lightening and the birds, and the little boy who gave up everything to protect him from all of it. It might be his fantasy, his imagination, something he's built up over years of telling fake stories, but Pikachu loves this boy, his best friend, his brother.

"I don't know if you feel the same way, but I really loved telling you about our adventures." He imagines he can see a smile on Satoshi's face. "I hope it was the journey you wanted it to be." There's not much time left, but there's also not much else to say. "Good night, Satoshi. Now you'll start a whole new journey. I'm sure that you'll make all your dreams come true." Pikachu would like to see these dreams and have a place in them, but he can't follow Satoshi, not this time. "I hope we meet again, someday." In a world where Satoshi is more than just a character in a story, and Pikachu is more than a lonely, guilt-ridden rebel who let his one chance at salvation die.

But they've reached the end of the chapter, and there is no more. It's time to close the book. So, Pikachu takes his leave, looking back one last time before he squeezes back through the open window. It doesn't feel like enough. The words he said don't give the right kind of closure, and he feels he should do more, but it can't be helped. The story is done, and Satoshi is just a dead body in a coffin, now.

Pikachu is alone.

Just as he always was. For the first time in well over a decade, Pikachu breaks down and sobs, allows himself to grieve over this boy he never really knew.

The adventure is over, and Pikachu can tell no more. It's up to Satoshi now, if they should ever meet in another life and carry on this story. And who knows if the sequel will be anything like what Pikachu imagines it to be?

But, until that day, Satoshi will sleep in the Spirit World, and Pikachu will tell himself old stories of a boy and his Pokemon, and all the dreams that could have been.


End file.
